First Night Apart
by LoonyLover
Summary: Having children is not always a picnic. Especially when they're small. Especially when you have two. Harry and Ginny were lacking many things these days. Like sleep. And most of all, time alone. FLUFF! COMPLETE! Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** **I'm not JK Rowling. Nor do I own the books. Sadly. The only thing I do own is the copies on my nightstand.**

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"Mummy!" Ginny got out of bed, her eyes still closed. She squinted just enough to avoid stepping on the ten billion toys lining the way to the nursery. James stood, wide awake, in his crib waiting. He had a firm grip on his pillow in one hand, and his blanket in the other. Ginny picked him up, and walked back to bed, as fast as her tired limbs would go.

It was still early spring, and the air was chilly. When her foot collided with the base of the bed, she put James down. Agilely, with the pillow still in hand, he crawled under the covers next to his sleeping father. Ginny shivered and hurried to join her son.

James settled himself between his parents and stretched out one dimpled hand to his mother. Ginny pulled the hair out of her face before closing her eyes. James little hand found her ear and began pulling the lobe while his eyes grew heavier.

Ginny had just reached the wonderfully relaxing state between sleep and awareness, when another cry broke the silence. She pulled back the covers to get up. But Harry's arms stopped her.

"No, I'll go. You need to sleep." Harry rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"No, I've got it. I think he's hungry." Once again, Ginny got out of bed. But she didn't have to go far this time. Albus slept in a cradle in their bedroom. Ginny held the baby and gently rocked him while humming softly. She sat down in the pluffy armchair in the corner next to the cradle. Ginny smiled and looked down at her son, and caressed the soft curls on his head. She felt her lids become heavier and heavier, and before she knew it, she was asleep.

"Honey, Honey." Someone shook her shoulder. Ginny opened her eyes. Sunlight was softly shining through the windows. Harry stood in front of her, fully dressed, with Albus on his hip.

Ginny looked at the clock. It was nearly eight. She flew up and began scolding him for not waking her up. "You looked like you needed your sleep. Besides, you looked too adorable sleeping there."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry, I've slept there every night for the last week. Seriously, don't you ever tire of watching me sleep?"

Harry smiled and shook his head. "Nope, still the best part of my morning." Albus felt that enough time had passed without anyone acknowledging his presence. He let out an annoyed sound and jumped up and down in his fathers arms.

Ginny held out her arms for him. "Sorry, my love. But mummy and dad have to talk sometimes." Harry put his arm around her shoulders.

_**Crash! **_

Harry and Ginny's head flew up. Harry rushed out the door, and Ginny followed closely behind. With her heart stuck in her throat, Ginny ran into the kitchen. James sat on the floor, crying and screaming, with peaces of broken china all around him. Harry stood beside him, with his wand clutched tightly in his hand.

Ginny tightened her jaw and stared at her husband. "Harry, did you leave your wand downstairs? With James?" She put her hands on her hip, which made her look a lot like her mother.

Harry scratched his head. "Well, you see, I was in a bit of a hurry…"

Ginny tapped her foot impatiently. "And that gives you the right to not pay attention to our son?"

Harry pursed his lips. "I was just going upstairs to go wake you. Besides, nothing happened."

Ginny almost smacked him on the head. "That's completely irrelevant. He might have killed himself!"

Harry looked like he wanted to continue arguing, but the clock in the kitchen rang eight. Harry looked up, slightly panicked. "Oh, shoot. We'll have to talk about this tonight. I'm late for work." He leaned over and kissed Ginny on the cheek. She was still very mad at him for being so ignorant. With a last peck on top of Albus head, and a ruffle of James's hair, Harry left the kitchen.

Ginny sat down and took a sip of the coffee Harry had made for her. She must admit that living with him had it's advantages. Like the fact that she had gotten to sleep in, some what, this morning. And he'd made coffee. That was the best part. If she thought he addiction had been bad before, it was tripled now.

Ginny almost felt sorry for yelling at Harry like that. But it was hard to have the right perspective before that pivotal third coup of coffee. And it had been stupid of him to forget his wand like that. Speaking on which, where had she put her wand? Ginny patted her pyjama, realizing it had no pockets. She ran up the stairs to the bedroom, still no wand. So she ran back downstairs, and began tearing the house apart, literally, looking for it.

James was ecstatic, Mummy never played anything fun like this. He gladly helped her throw all the sofa cushions in a huge pile on the floor, and then proceeded to jump on them while screaming in ecstasy. Ginny covered her ears, and snapped at him. James fell silent immediately, but then began to cry. He did not like to be told. Ginny took some deep steadying breaths, before picking him up. She'd have to continue looking while he and Albus took their nap.

She went in to the kitchen to clean up after breakfast. Which took a lot longer since she couldn't use any magic. She opened the door to the refrigerator, and gasped. Her wand was laying there, right on top of a milkcarton. She picked it up and shook her head at herself. When on earth had she put it there? This sleep deprivation thing was not good for her.

When she'd gotten the kids, and herself, looking somewhat presentable, Ginny took a pinch of Floo-powder from a can on top the mantle, and threw in the fire. It immediately turned emerald. She settled Albus safely on her hip, and took James' hand. "We're going to go see Grandma, how about that?"

James smiled in delight and hurried in before his mother. Albus laughed and showed all of his non existing teeth. Ginny followed her son. "The Burrow!" she said, and they began spinning in a whirlwind of colours.

As soon as they arrived at her parents house, James let go of her hand, and ran out in the kitchen, crying "'Ma!" Which was the closest thing he could say to Grandma. Mrs Weasley came in, wearing that special smile she saved for her grandchildren, and planted a big wet kiss on James's cheek.

"Oh, my darlings! You've grown, Jamie. Look at you, big boy now!" James hugged her so tightly he looked like he might choke her, but Mrs Weasley seemed quite content.

Albus had started getting heavy, and Ginny sat down on a chair, and shifted him so that he was sitting on her lap. He laughed happily and waved his arms at his Grandmother. He then tried to shove his entire fist in his mouth. Ginny removed his hand, and kissed him on the head. "Al, don't eat your hand. Are you hungry?"

Mrs Weasley sat down next to her. "How are you? You look tired." Ginny yawned.

"Jamie has decided he doesn't want to sleep in his room, so he wakes up every night and screams until we come pick him up." Mrs Weasley shook her head slightly.

"You were the same when you were that age. You'll just have to let him know where his bed is, otherwise he'll never stop sleeping with you."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Mum, the walls are not that thick. I don't think we'd be getting much sleep even if we let him sleep in his bed. Less more likely."

Mrs Weasley creased her eyebrows. "I'm just saying that if you want your son to-"

Ginny held out a hand to stop her. "Mum, please. I know you mean well, but it's too early for your advices right know. I can't just throw _Muffliato _on the door and pretend that he's not there."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Mrs Weasley smiled. "I was just going to put the kettle on. Would you like some tea?"

"No, but coffee please."

"Ginevra, you know it's not healthy do drink that much caffeine. Especially since your still nursing little Al here." She held out her hand for him, he took it and began suckling her finger. "Oh, dearest, I think he's teething!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, Al is known to suck on everything within his reach. And drooling like crazy. So, yes, I think you're right."

"I remember you and your brothers used to sleep quite bad before you got your first teeth. Does he have you up at night?"

"Yes. I haven't gotten a good nights sleep in over a week."

"Poor dear. And Harry must be tired at work." Mrs Weasley looked out the window, deep in thought. Then she quickly turned, with the biggest smile on her face. "But, I just got the best idea. Why don't you leave the boys here tomorrow, so that you can have some time alone with Harry." She almost clapped her hands she was so excited.

Ginny smiled, and gave her mother a big hug. "Oh, Mum, that would be very kind of you." She would never admit it to anyone, but she had tears in her eyes.

"That's settled then. I remember what it was like when you were little. It felt like your father and I never had a chance to talk." With a flick of her wand, Mrs Weasley filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove to heat.

Ginny sighed. "I don't know how you managed to get any sleep at all. You made it look so easy, and you had seven! I only have two, and-" Ginny didn't get to finish the sentence, as she had just noticed how quiet it was. And how long their conversation had been, without any interruptions. "Where's Jamie?" Her head began to turn around, searching for him. He was not in the room.

Mrs Weasley nearly dropped the kettle. "He was here a second ago." They began a short, but frantic search for the toddler.

For those of you unfamiliar with the incredible speed of a 2-year old, they were right to be a bit panicked. Despite their short legs, they move with a determination and at a pace one could hardly believe possible for someone so small. James was no exception to this.

And given the many hideout's at the Burrow, the number of places he might be was quite vast. That's not a good thing for a mother. But, fortunately they found him after a not too long a search.

He had crawled into one of the kitchen cabinets, and sat, quite happily in the dark, eating on a piece of bread he'd found in there. Ginny pulled him out and hugged him tightly to her chest.

"He's as bad as Fred and George, that one." Mrs Weasley shook her head and smiled lovingly at the little boy.

"Jamie, don't scare me like th- Ow, ow, Al, let go off Mummy's hair."

That put an end to their visit at the Burrow. Mrs Weasley offered to make them lunch, but Ginny wanted to get home. They slept better in their own bed, and Ginny had some things she wanted to do. Like shower. And maybe clean the house or something. She didn't want to waste her night alone with Harry on such trifle things.

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**So what do think? God? Bad? Please leave a review and tell me! Nothing makes me write faster... :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the AWESOME reviews! I wrote this purely for my own pleasure, but to see that others like it as well is just, wow.**

**Oh, and I've gone back and done some small corrections in chapter 1. English is not my first language, so if you notice a mistake somewhere, please let me know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I makes me depressed to say it, but I don't.**

**Oh, and there's a line in here that I stole from "Eclipse" (which I totally die for, like zero plot and all fluff. Iiiip!). If you can find it I'll give you a cybercookie! :D**

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The afternoon was quite uneventful. The weather was rather nice so they went to the park and played some. James seemed very excited about spending the night with his grandparents. But then Mrs Weasley spoiled her grandchildren like none other.

Harry came home from work not the much later. Ginny kissed him, while James hugged his leg. "I'm so sorry about this morning." he said "I've been feeling bad about it all day. I mean, I'm claiming to be an Auror, and then I neglect Elementary Wand Safety in my own house." he looked at her apologetically while brushing away the soot from his robes.

Ginny just kept smiling. Harry frowned. "I've been braising myself for you wrath all afternoon. And this is what I get?" He smirked. "Should I infuriate you more often?"

"Not when risking the safety of our children. However, you might try later tonight, if you're still up for it." Harry raised one eyebrow. Ginny bit her lip. "I saw Mum today. And she had this idea, that the kids could stay with her tonight. So that you and I could have… some… alone time." She absentmindedly fingered with the buttons on his shirt. Harry gulped.

"That's…wow, that's very sweet of her."

"Yeah. I don't think she knows what she's gotten herself into. I think she's sugar coated all her memories of our childhood. This is no picnic."

Harry shook his head. "Nah, it's not that bad. I kind of like this life."

"You like getting no sleep and talking about nappies all day long?" Ginny looked up at him in disbelief.

"You're exaggerating. Besides, I've gotten enough excitement to last a lifetime." James continued to try and climb up his leg, but Harry ignored him. "And, if I'm being honest, life could never be boring with you." James had now begun to cry his fathers name. He was not used to being ignored like that. Harry picked him up and threw him in the air, making James laugh hysterically.

Ginny felt giddy as a schoolgirl. She couldn't help smiling, and her stomach kept making flip flops. She even started singing (very out of tune, but still) while packing James and Albus' pyjamas. In her defence, Harry behaved just as bad. But aren't we all fools in love?

"So," Harry said "where do you want to do for dinner? Do you want to go out, or should we eat at home?" Ginny bit her lip and looked up at Harry from under her eyelashes.

"Actually, I'd rather stay here…" Harry blushed, something he hadn't done in quite awhile. Two weeks and three days, if Ginny remembered correctly.

Its odd how time moves when your with kids. The days sort of float together, and it feels like you don't do anything but eat and getting in and out of clothes. It was now nearing dinner time and so it was time for the two younger Potters to go spend the night at the Burrow.

Ginny began feeling a bit uneasy. This was the first time she was apart from her children. She hugged Al closer to her. A treatment he did not particularly like, as this stopped him from sucking (or more like chewing) on his fingers. He made sure his mother understood his discomfort. In other words, he began crying.

He didn't cry long though, as Jamie, with a little help from his father, had taken a pinch of Floo-powder and thrown it into the fire. Al's tears dried immediately and he waved his arms up and down in excitement.

The flames turned emerald, and Harry stepped in with James. Ginny followed soon after with Al, after making sure for the umpteenth time that she'd packed everything. That was one of the worst parts when nursing, you get totally distracted all of the time. It's like your body is one big timer, and you instantly _feel_ when your child is going to be hungry. And you can't think about anything else. So it was not that surprising that Ginny felt a bit confused when leaving Grimmauld Place. She hadn't fed Al yet, as she wanted to do that right before leaving. She'd packed some formula (he was just beginning to learn to drink it), but he still preferred milk to the bottle.

In time they got to the Burrow, and it was time to say goodbye. James had already run away into the living room, with his father in tow. If Jamie loved his Grandmother because he spoiled her, he loved his Grandfather because of his patience.

No one really seemed to have enough time to simply play with him to the extent that James would like. It gets a bit tedious after awhile, playing with a two year old. It's mostly repeating the same thing, over and over again. And even parents get tired of that. Grandpa Weasley, on the other hand, was never too tired.

On hearing that he was going to have grandchildren, Mr Weasley had quickly filled his workshed with Muggletoys. He spent hours and hours demonstrating how the cars would drive up and down the street, how traffic lights worked and that kind of stuff. The toys were simple, but as Muggletoys were as special to a little witch or wizard, as their toys were to Muggles, this was not a problem.

Ginny came into the room, and saw her father and son in the middle of building a giant wooden railroad, complete with trains and all. Or, her father was building it, and Jamie was handing him pieces of rail. Harry sat in the sofa, speaking encouragingly to his son.

Mrs Weasley came out with a tray full of cookies and milk. She handed Jamie a glass, and he helped himself to some cookies. Ginny frowned at her mother. "Your going spoil his appetite. He's as bad as me when it comes to sugar. You'll never get him to eat dinner now."

Mrs Weasley shock her head and smiled. "I've made his favorite, so I think I'll be able to persuade him to take a bite. Besides, I have to spoil him whenever I see him. I just can't help myself."

Ginny laughed. "You see him nearly everyday."

Harry put his hand on her shoulder. "Shall we?" She nodded and got up.

Albus seemed to sense that something was going on, and he began to cry and grabbed Ginny's jumper tightly in his little hands. "Schh, darling, your going to stay with Grandma, and then Mummy and Daddy'll come pick you up later." she cooed as she prised his hand away from her clothes. "Don't cry." That might have been directed to herself as well.

Ginny was embarrassed at her own emotions. In a way, she felt almost glad that the idea of a separation brought tears to her little baby. Was it normal to feel like that? She felt horrible. What mother liked the idea of her baby being sad? But then, him being sad, meant that she must mean as much to him, as he does to her - and that is something a mother can never hear too often.

She gave a still sobbing Albus to her mother and then bent down to kiss Jamie goodbye. He didn't even have time to look up, he was too immersed in building the rail to notice that they were leaving. He reminded her of how Ron would get when he played chess. But then, they were related, so perhaps it wasn't that strange.

Soon, they were back at Grimmauld Place. There was an uncomfortable tension in the air around them. They had built these extremely high expectations on this night, so both were quite nervous. Even if Ginny understood that she was being silly, and that she had been married to Harry for three years, and had two children with him, she couldn't help what she felt.

Harry helped her brush the soot of her clothes, before brushing his own. Ginny was thankful that she'd turned so that her back was facing him. She didn't want him to see how flustered she'd become by his simple touch. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest.

"What do you want to eat?" Ginny called while browsing through the cabinets.

"Actually," Harry said as he came into the kitchen. "Your Mum gave us some food so that we wouldn't have to cook tonight." He pulled a small bag out of his pocket, put it on the counter and enlarged it. The rich smell of Mrs Weasley's homemade meatballs wafted through the kitchen.

Ginny smiled and began unpacking. "She was right. This is James' favourite."

Harry set the table while Ginny reheated the food. She hadn't noticed how famined she was. When they sat down she immediately began loading her plate with a massive portion. Harry looked at her, trying to fight back the smile forming on his lips.

When she began shovelling the food in her mouth, he couldn't hold it any longer. "Slow down, you're going to be sick if you just throw down your food like that." He chuckled.

"Oh," Ginny wiped her mouth with her napkin. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice."

Harry smiled. "It's nothing to be sorry for."

Ginny bit her lip. Then she speared a tomato and brought it slowly to her lips. "I guess it's something you just do as a mother, without thinking." She took a bite. Harry just stared at her mouth, and gulped. "You have to eat while you can."

Harry shocked his head to try and clear his it. "Yes-" he said and looked down on his plate. "That might be right." That sat in silence for awhile, both consumed by their own thoughts.

Harry showed her that he'd been thinking the same as she had by saying. "Do you think they're having fun at the Burrow? The kids, I mean."

"I hope so." Ginny shrugged. "I just hope Mum remembers that you have to completely soak James' potatoes in butter, or he won't eat them."

Harry frowned. "Yeah, did we tell her that?"

"No." Ginny shock her head. "No, I don't think we did."

"Do you think we should? I mean, it's kind of important." Harry trailed of staring at the fireplace.

"You know what, I think I will." She wiped her mouth with the napkin. "He gets so cranky when he's hungry. And if he's cranky he won't sleep. How could I have forgotten to tell her that?" Ginny muttered while walking toward the fireplace.

It turned out that there hadn't been any trouble with getting James to eat his dinner. Mrs Weasley was right in the middle of brushing his teeth when Ginny Floo-ed her. So Ginny returned, feeling quite reassured that her boys were taken good care of.

Their dinner continued. They were silent again. "Did you tell them that Jamie needs to pull on someone's earlobe. He can't sleep otherwise."

Harry stared at her, and shook his head. "No, how could I forget to mention that?" Ginny flew up from her chair and walked briskly to the fire.

This time, she only saw her father, sitting alone in the kitchen reading a Mugglenewspaper. He informed her that all the kids were sleeping and that they should go back to enjoy their dinner. Ginny was just leaving when she remembered something else. "Did I pack Al's stuffed dragon? He likes to suck on. And if he wakes up, he might fall back asleep if he has-"

Mr Weasley raised an eyebrow. "Relax. Go spend time with your husband. Your mother and I are quite capable of looking after your kids. It's only one night after all. I'll see you tomorrow." And he turned back to his paper.

Ginny felt a bit embarrassed. Perhaps she had exaggerated a bit. Was she becoming as overbearingly protective of her sons, as she remembered her mother had been to her? Oh dear God hope not.

When she got back, Harry had cleared away dinner. He was in the kitchen, supervising the dish brush. "Was everything alright?" he asked and turned towards her.

"Yes," she said, walking closer. "But I don't think we should go back there anymore tonight."

Harry frowned. "Why?" Ginny wrapped her arms around him.

"Because I think we've been behaving like mother hens, both of us." She looked up at him.

He was smirking down at her. "What do you propose we do then?" Ginny blushed.

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**Please review and let me know what you think! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay, new chapter! Sorry for the wait, but I had to work. But now I'm off for the Holidays! Yay! **

**I've exaggerated some things in this chapter. I needed to do that in order to further prove my point. But, as this is **_**my **_**story, perhaps it's not that big of a deal. I hope!**

**This picks up right were we left. Let's get back to Harry and Ginny and whatever it was they were doing. :P**

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Harry Potter. Wish I did. But I don't.**

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She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Harry stroke her hair from her head down to her waist and let his hands rest there. He pulled her closer and she sighed against his lips.

Things got a little out of hand after that. Ginny soon found herself sitting on the table with Harry standing between her legs, kissing frantically only breaking for air. She gasped and Harry moved to place warm kisses down her neck. When he reached the sensitive spot just behind her collarbone Ginny couldn't stop the soft moan escaping from her lips.

"Perhaps we should continue this somewhere else." he whispered huskily in her ear. "When I'm still able to stop." Ginny simply nodded.

Harry still held on to her waist as they moved up the stairs to the third floor. Still panting (whether from the exercise or from something else will remain unsaid) they reached the Master Bedroom.

They still used Sirius' old bedroom. The original Master Bedroom, Mrs Black's old quarters had never felt like home to Harry. In fact, he had given the room to Kreacher, when Harry moved back in after the war.

Sadly, the old Elf had died a few years ago, so the room was vacant once more. It was now mostly used to store furniture and artefacts that were unsuitable for children. Like the giant display case, standing on feet as thin as cobweb (not overly stable at least.) Or the old umbrella stand that Tonks used to always knock down on her visits. Not only had James nearly fallen down in it, bud little Teddy Lupin thought is scary.

But them sleeping in Sirius old room had other benefits. They had made Regulus' room into a nursery.

In the original plan of the house, it seemed as if the nursery and the Master Bedroom were, not only on different sides of the house, but on different floors! Perhaps this was because you valued the parents need for sleep more than you did the children's happiness and well being. Or perhaps it just had to do with the fact that it was built for families who most certainly owned a house-elf or two.

Yes, yes. Back to the story.

The hallway was dark, and they didn't bother to turn on the lights. This however, meant that they didn't see the toys that were strewn all across the floor. Which in turn meant that Ginny fell and hurt her ankle. Serious mood breaker. But, on a positive note, as it hurt to walk, Harry had to carry her.

She giggled as her back bounced on the mattress. Harry climbed on top of her and smiled, which made her heart flutter. "So, where were we?"

Ginny bit her lip. "I don't really remember."

Harry frowned. "Did you hit your head when you fell?"

"No," she said and started unbuttoning his shirt. "Just be quiet and kiss me."

He chuckled. "Impatient are we?"

She gave him a look that spoke more than words ever could. "It's been nearly three weeks. You do the math." He chuckled again, but complied.

The kissing grew more and more intense, as more and more items of clothing landed on the floor.

But Ginny began feeling a bit uneasy. It was like her body was telling her that something was wrong. She couldn't put a finger on it, but she couldn't forget it either. Harry's touch set fire to her flesh, but it felt different. The feel of him wasn't as potent as it used to be. Like her body was concentrating on something else beside him. She closed her eyes. Her head swam with love and need for him. But her body was telling her differently.

Harry's hand lightly traced the soft curve of her breast. She winced and pulled away from his hand. "Ouch."

He looked at her, a worried frown on his brow. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

She looked down, embarrassed. "No, it's not your fault. They're just a bit tender." She bit her lip. "I think Al's hungry." He lowered his hand back onto the mattress. Silence fell over them again. "I'm sorry, I broke the mood." Ginny ran her fingers through his hair.

"No, no, it's okay." He shook his head.

She bit her lip again, not meeting his eyes. "So, do you want to continue?"

"Yeah." He kissed her again and she pulled him closer to her.

His chest touched against her breast and she winced again. She was just going to apologize when he rolled of off her. "I can't do it like this. Let's just go to sleep, we can try again tomorrow.

"I'm sorry." She would never admit it, but she almost felt like crying. Blasted hormones.

"No, it's not your fault." He kissed her cheek. Tears rolled down from her eyes.. "No, please don't cry."

"But it is my fault! This was our one special night and I've gone and completely ruined it. What a lousy excuse of a wife I am."

"I don't ever want to hear you say that. I love you and for some reason you love me back. You've given me two beautiful, healthy children. That's more than I would ever ask for." He caressed her cheek gently. She smiled, but the tears kept rolling. "Why are you crying now?" His emerald eyes held her gaze. She couldn't look away. Their pull was equal to that of a small black hole.

"You're too perfect." She pouted. He couldn't help but laugh at her. Her expression was soon turned into an irritated frown. "Don't laugh, I'm being serious!" He pulled her up so that she was half-lying on top of him. She looked him in the eye, and he stopped laughing immediately. An idea had formed in her mind. She bit her lip and used her arms to raise herself off of him. He put his hands on her shoulder to stop her from moving.

"I won't laugh anymore, I swear." He looked at her, with doe like eyes. For a moment she was lost in the deep green pools of his eyes again. He leaned closer and kissed her gently. "Please don't be mad at me."

She kissed him back and pushed him back onto the mattress. She used this moment of distraction to put one of her legs over his, straddling his thighs. He moaned against her mouth.

She put her mouth against his ear. "Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Sometimes it's good to try something different. And we haven't done this since I was pregnant." He shuddered beneath her. She smiled and kissed him again.

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Albus was crying. She got out of bed, and half dragged her still sleepy limbs to the other side of the bedroom. She must have stomped her toe on something, because her foot hurt. She ignored the pain, thinking back to the wonderful warmth under the comforter. In the dim light she could just make out the shape of the crib. She blinked to get a better focus. But, as she leaned over the edge to lift up her son, her heart froze in her chest. The bed was empty.

She looked under the quilt. Nothing there. The panic rose in her chest. Her baby was missing. Her baby was missing. "Harry!" she screamed and lay down on the floor, to look under the bed.

Her husband flew off the bed, at the sound of her alarmed voice. "What's wrong?" His eyes were still groggy with sleep as he took in her position. She got up off the floor to check the rest of the room. But her foot really hurt now. She could barely put any weight on it.

"He's missing!" She choked, really freaking out now. He just looked at her, as if he hadn't heard her. She hopped over to him and slapped him on the arm. "How can you just stand there? Our son is missing!"

He creased his brow. "I think you were sleepwalking, Gin. Don't you remember we left the boys at the Burrow?"

Oh. Right. Her mouth formed a little "o". She blushed and got back (more like hopped) in bed. Her heart still hammered in her chest. Even though it turned out she'd dreamed the whole thing, it had still been one of the worst minutes of her life. When the chock had subsided, she embarrassed herself by crying, for the second time that night. Harry held her, and she put her head on his chest. She was never the one to cry, yet since she'd gotten pregnant with Jamie, she'd cried more monthly than she'd had in her entire life. Blasted hormones.

She tried to go back to sleep. But not even the soothing sound of Harry's heartbeats could calm her. Not only did her heart feel heavy, her breasts had started to throb dully. She changed position for what felt like the millionth time and sighed.

"Can't sleep?" Harry asked, his eyes still closed.

"No." She croaked. "You?"

"No." he whispered back. "It's too quiet."

She turned her head slightly and looked up at him. "Why are we whispering? There's no one else here." she whispered back.

Harry smiled crookedly. "Hold habit I guess."

Ginny closed her eyes again. "I'm tired."

"Me too love." He sighed and kissed her head.

She drummed her fingers on his chest. "I can't sleep."

"Me neither." He shrugged.

"This is really depressing." She sighed.

"I know."

Ginny could sense that there was really no point in trying to get more sleep. This was it for this night. "What time is it?"

"I don't know." Harry looked up and looked out the window. "It's still dark outside."

Ginny rolled her eyes. Duh. "I want coffee." More like need it. Injected. Or this will not be a happy morning.

"Shall we call it morning?" Harry stretched out his arms and yawned. Ginny sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. She would need to shower to get all the tangles out.

"Yeah." She frowned. "How long do you think we have to wait before we go to the Burrow? To not sound overly desperate, I mean?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know? Eight, nine, maybe?" They looked at each other. "Perhaps we should wait 'til lunch." Ginny nodded.

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**Sorry to disappoint all of you hoping to read a good lemon. I get to embarrassed writing those. I love reading them, but I don't have enough experience to write them. You wouldn't want to read a lemon based on other lemons, right? Wait, what am I saying? A lemon is always a lemon. But you get my point.**

**I gave you a pretty good semi-lime, though, didn't I? Now, hit that review button and tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, remember me? I'm soo sorry for not updating sooner. I would have updated last friday, but then everyone (and I mean everyone!) at work got sick with the flu. Or the adults did. The kids were fine. And then my family came down with it too. I'm the only one still standing. But I'm getting quite tired of looking after people. No more ranting, on with the story!**

**I love this chapter. Eventhough it's a tad bit shorter than the rest. But I've got a special treat for you later. Just wait and see!**

**Disclaimer: No. I do not own Harry Potter. However, I do own a miniature Volvo c30! Iiip! Thank you Santa!**

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Ginny was having a rubbish morning. How could she'd possibly been dreaming about this? She had already had breakfast. And cleaned the entire house (which she _never_ did). And it wasn't ten yet. Not to mention her foot hurt.

Harry was in a mood as well. After screaming at each other for a bit, they had now reached a silent truce. She sighed and rubbed her ankle.

"You're being ridiculous." Harry muttered from the other end of the table. "Why don't you just let me fix it for you?"

"I'm fine."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You can't even walk."

"I walked upstairs just fine, thank you very much. To clean _your_ house." The anger inside her was flaring up again. She took a moment to remind herself why she'd actually chosen to marry this guy.

"Don't start again." he whined, finishing his cup of coffee. "Please, I'm too tired to argue."

"You started it."

"Yeah yeah, I'm the bad guy. Sure." He shook his head.

Ginny pursed her lips. "Don't do that! You're not the victim here. I'm the one with the broken foot!"

He raised his eyebrows. "So you admit that you're hurt."

"You know what?" Ginny put up her hand to stop him from saying anything more. "For the sake of our marriage, lets go pick up the kids." They walked (Ginny hopped) to the fireplace, took a pinch of Floo-powder, and they were off.

George was the only one in the kitchen when Harry and Ginny arrived. When he saw Ginny leaning on Harry, and grimacing whenever she put any wait on her foot, he raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?" he asked, smirking.

"I fell." She grimaced back.

George shook his head and went back to his newspaper. "As the mistress said to the gardener…" he trailed off suggestively.

Ginny felt her temper rise."What did you say you were doing here again?" she asked through tight lips.

"Mum's making me lunch." George said proudly. Ginny rolled her eyes.

Harry surprised her by saying: "George, stop badgering her." Wow, he must really be in a mood today. He never used to stick up against her brothers like that.

"If you say so Harry." George shrugged back, unaffected. "But I still think you could have come up with a better excuse." he added, sounding rather bored.

"It's the truth!" Ginny stomped her foot. Bad idea. Very bad idea.

"And I'm the king of England." George should be glad that Mrs Weasley chose to appear in the door just then, making a retort from Ginny impossible. She might be a grown woman, with children of her own, but Ginny still didn't want to upset her mother if she could avoid it. And George was not worth it.

"Oh dearest, are you here already?" Mrs Weasley gave them both a hug before turning to put the kettle on. "The morning just flew by. They are such little darlings." She smiled. When she turned she took in Ginny's swollen ankle. "Good gracious, what happened to you?" She pushed Ginny down in a chair, took the foot in her hand and started examining it.

"I fell last night. You know, them toys are deathtraps." Ginny smiled to try and ease the tension.

But Mrs Weasley turned to look at Harry, with an unapproving look. "Why didn't you fix it? It doesn't look like anything is broken. A simple spell aught to do the trick."

"Well, eh…" Harry scratched his head, looking desperately at Ginny for some help. Ginny didn't wish to tell her mother that it was she that had insisted that Harry should not do anything about it. It would do Harry some good to sweat a bit.

Or maybe not. She never could resist those eyes of his. "I didn't think it was that bad 'til this morning. And then I knew we were going here anyway, so I thought I'd wait and let you do it. You're much better at this stuff than any of us." Mrs Weasley looked pleased at the compliment. But she didn't give Harry her usual loving smile right away.

Mrs Weasley took out her wand from the pocket on her apron, and with a flick off it, made Ginny's foot as good as new. Ginny gently rubbed her ankle, glad that the pain was gone.

Harry stood behind her chair, on his toes, spying out in the living room. Ginny followed his gaze. Had they played it cool long enough? When she saw a little red head sticking up from behind the sofa, she couldn't care less. She took Harry's hand and together they ran to see James.

His face lit up when he saw his parents. He ran over to meet them, and Ginny scooped him up in her arms. James got so excited he bit her shoulder. Hard. Not that she cared. She hugged him tightly to her chest.

Mr Weasley came down the stairs, with Albus on his arm. "Ah, perfect timing!" He said when he saw them. "Here's a clean _not_ smelling baby for you." He gave the baby to Harry and went over to kiss Ginny on the cheek.

Albus frowned and stared at his father a moment. Then he reached out one dimpled hand to his glasses, and began suckling on them. Harry laughed and wiped them off on his robes.

"Do you want to stay for lunch? There's plenty of food." Mrs Weasley asked. Harry and Ginny shook their heads simultaneously.

Ginny went to stand next to her husband, and he put his arm around her. "Thanks Mum, but you've done enough. Last night was great, thank you." Albus reached for his mother, but the only thing he could reach was her hair. Ginny grimaced while trying to untangle her hair from Albus' death grip.

Mrs Weasley smiled. "Oh, it was my pleasure. I'll be glad to take them again, if you want." she raised an eyebrow, and glanced down on Ginny's now healed ankle. Ginny was glad that her face was hidden behind a curtain of hair, as she couldn't stop the blush. Her mother did so not just say that.

Harry resettled Albus on his hip. "That's great, thank you Molly." He sounded unaffected. Perhaps he hadn't noticed the innuendo. Ginny let out a sigh of relief.

Before anyone else could embarrass her, Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and walked over to the fireplace. "Bye Mum. Bye Dad!" she called over her shoulder.

"You didn't really mean that last thing, did you?" Ginny asked while Harry brushed the soot of off James. "About leaving the kids again."

Harry shook his head. "No. But I didn't want to upset Molly. It was very nice of her to take them." he added with afterthought.

"Yes, the thought was good." Ginny agreed. She bit her lip. "But I don't think we should try again anytime soon."

Harry laughed and shook his head. "No."

Ginny joined him. "We're pathetic, aren't we?"

"No, we're parents." he said and gave her a soft kiss.

Everyone had eaten, and the kids had finally gone to sleep. Ginny lay down next to Harry, the usual exhaustion sweeping through her. But this time, she embraced it. It came with a cost, but it was one she was more than willing to pay.

She nestled her head in the crook of Harry's neck. He hugged her to his side. "He was hungry tonight." Harry said, not opening his eyes.

"Nah, he fell asleep quite soon. I just wanted to hold him. You know he looks just like you when he sleeps?" It was almost scary how similar the two looked. They even had a similar birthmark. Of course, Harry had his scar, something his son would never have to bear the burden off. His father had made sure of that.

"Really?" Harry smiled.

"Yes." She yawned.

"Tired, love?" He kissed her forehead. "We should have slept longer this morning, when we had the chance."

"No, it's worth being a bit tired. I like it when we're all together." He opened his eyes and turned his head so that he was facing her.

"I do too." She ran her hand down his arm and back, and slipped it under his shirt. He shivered from her touch.

"My guess is that we have approximately two hours before Jamie wakes up. What say you to doing something else than sleeping, now that we've established that sleep is overrated." She looked at him from under her lashes, so that there could be no mistaken about what activity she was referring to.

"Why are you always so eloquent when trying to seduce me?" He tried to sound unaffected, but Ginny knew that look. He was putty in her hands.

She playfully shoved his shoulder. "Hey, you're the one with the fancy word!"

Harry stared at her, a fire burning in his emerald eyes. "Are you going to kiss me or not?" And she did.

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**Believe it or not, this is were the story originally ended. But then Sara, my bestest friend and fanfictionlover extraordinaire. told me what happened to her sister one morning. And I couldn't resist the temptation to put Ginny through that. Hahaha *evil laughter* (Seriously, don't worry, I'm all fluff, even my cliffies are.)**

**Plus, it gave me an awesome chance to bring little Teddy into the story. And we wouldn't want to miss that now, would we? :P**

**As always, reviews are heaven. And if you notice any mistake, please point them out. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Another chapter fpr your reading pleasure. I'm just getting ready to go to work, so I shan't be long. Just want to say thank you to all those who's still here after all the long months of not posting anything. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. And hardly that.**

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Harry had to work the following day, even though it was Sunday. Being an Auror meant that you never knew if you had to work or not. Apparently, there had been some minor explosion in a Muggle shop somewhere in Kent. Normally, the Ministry would just send the Magical Law Enforcement to take a look. But they had judged it to be too risky for them, therefore sending the Aurors.

Ginny had a nice, quiet morning with the boys. They were all well rested, for once. Ginny was just clearing away the dishes, when the flames in the fireplace turned emerald, and a boy stepped out.

Every Sunday, you might think that there were three children in the Potter family. Because; every Sunday, Teddy Lupin would come over to spend the day with his godfather. He looked up to Harry as a father, and James and Albus were as good as brothers to him.

Teddy greeted Ginny with a smile, a hasty wave, and then began ranting. If left unstopped, he could talk incessantly for hours. His favourite subject (at the moment) was everything concerning space; from shuttles, to famous astronauts, to planets and everything in between. At first, Ginny just thought that he'd spend too much time with her father. Mr Weasley had always been fascinated with whatever occupied Muggles. And space was clearly one of those things.

But now Ginny had a nagging suspicion that Teddy in fact was terrified of space. So therefore (using a child's logic) he had to ally with it. So that it couldn't hurt him or something.

Her mother had always said that boys generally were more frightened of everything. That's why they had to have all those toy wands and brooms and stuff, to either fight off, or flee from that which scared them. Or in this case, learn everything there was to know, so that he knew what he was up against.

Another evidence that pointed towards this fact, was that Teddy never left the house without at least one bag filled with his most priced possessions. This had started they day after Harry had told him that there might, _might_, be creatures living on other planets, but that no one knew where or if. And since Teddy took every word Harry said for true; there must be aliens. And Teddy couldn't risk loosing one tiny stuffed animal to some slimy monster climbing through his bedroom window.

Today, he'd only brought a back pack, but it was so full, that it couldn't be closed. A stuffed dragon peeked out at the top, and what looked like a miniature telescope was visible underneath it. Ginny's heart grew warm watching him put down the heavy bag. Without further ado, he turned on his heel and sprinted up to the second floor. Since he came over so much, and they had more room than they could possibly need, Harry and Ginny had made up a room for him when he stayed over. It wasn't much, just a desk, a bed and some bookshelves. But Teddy was so proud of that room.

Ginny followed Teddy up, with Al on her hip. Teddy stood waiting for her in the dark, just like he always did. Little glowing stars where painted in the ceiling, and if you turned off the lights, it felt just like sleeping outside. He pointed out different stars and constellations. Ginny was pretty certain that Teddy knew more about astronomy than she did when she took her OWL's. Ginny looked up at the star covered ceiling and suddenly remembered a similar feature, in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

To think that nearly eight years had passed since she'd graduated from Hogwarts. Soon, she and Harry would've been together for a decade. If you leave out that brief year when he had gone out to save the world. Ginny suddenly felt old; despite her 24 years.

After graduation, Ginny had been hand plucked to play Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. After four very successful seasons, she got pregnant, and had to take a break.

It had not been easy for her to quit. She'd never been good at doing nothing. But thanks to some luck, she had landed what turned out to be the job of her dreams. Ginny got to work as a Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet; which meant that she could continue working with the sport she loved. And as long as she got the work done, she could take as many sleep ins as she wanted. It also meant that she could keep working, even if she was staying home with the boys.

They went back downstairs. James sat on the floor playing with his toy dragon. Al lay happily next to him, suckling on his knuckles. Teddy sat in the sofa reading a very thick book about Jupiter's moons, looking very important. Seeing as all the kids were occupied, Ginny went into the kitchen to work on the article she'd been writing. She'd just finished it, when Teddy yelled that the baby smelled funny. Ginny piled her work and put it on the stove, far away from prying hands. She'd already made the mistake of leaving things on the table. It had ended with Jamie eating (more like chewing, but you get the point) on three inches of parchment.

Just as she was finishing putting on a fresh nappy on Al, Ted screamed again. A second and a close heart attack later, Ginny came running down the stairs. Teddy was standing on the kitchen threshold, thick grey-white smoke billowing up from the stove. Jamie was sitting on the floor, apparently mesmerised by the flames that were slowly licking the parchment.

Ginny shoved Ted away, nearly knocking him over, as she reached to pull James away from the heat. He held her wand in his chubby little fist. She took it from him, pointed at the stove and said "_Aguamenti!_". The smoke immediately thickenend, and a foul smell made them all blink and cough. Ginny turned and closed the door. She then noticed that Teddy was missing. Panic spread through her. How hard had she shoved him? Was he still in the kitchen? She opened the door, but the smoke blinded her so she couldn't see anything. She kneeled down and started feeling around after him on the floor. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Then she heard someone running down the stairs. She stood up quickly, banging her head against the table in the process. She blinked repeatedly and could now see that it was in fact Teddy who came down, with two overstuffed bags in his hands. "My toys!" he screamed when he saw the smoke. "My toys are gonna burn!"

"Teddy," she said, trying to calm him. "It's okay, I put the fire out." But he didn't seem to hear her. He ran to the door, threw it open and ran outside. Ginny followed him.

It was a cold sunny day in March, and the wind blew cold. Ted stood at the end of the sidewalk seemingly declaring to all of England that there was a fire. Thankfully, the street and nearby houses were almost completely vacant, or Ginny'd been worried what the Muggles might think. She pulled Ted back into the house, and opened every window to get the smoke out.

The smoke had dissipated some, but the house still smelled. Teddy was sobbing quietly in the sofa. Ginny sat down next to him. Jamie crawled up in his lap and patted his head.

"Hey Ted, it's all right now. Don't to cry." He tried to pull himself together, but his lower lip still wobbled. Ginny smiled and caressed his cheek. "Do you want us to go visit Uncle Ron and Auntie Hermione?" He nodded and snuffled.

Ron and Hermione lived in a small cottage outside Dudley (Harry had laughed so hard when he'd heard). The house was surrounded by woods and fields, meaning that there were few Muggle neighbours they had to worry about.

Ron worked alongside Harry as an Auror. Hermione had taken a break from her job at the Departement of Magical Law Inforcement, to take care of their daughter, Rose. Rose was only ten weeks older than Albus. And she was her parents pride and joy. She had Ron so tightly wrapped around her little fingers that it was almost funny.

Hermione had taken the whole staying-at-home bit much better than Ginny had feared. She'd thought that Hermione would be scared of the intellectual degradation it brought. But she'd eased into it without any hardships. In fact, she seemed to be quite happy to get some time off to be able to _just read._ For fun, like she used to. Of course, you never expect that a new born baby can be that much trouble. It can't even lift it's own head, let along move!

But, when a whole day's gone by, and neither parent has been able to take a shower, one thinks otherwise.

Wait, scratch that last. That had been James. Rose was a perfect baby, and slept seven hours straight every night.

But, like every baby, she had her quirks. One of them being, she would only fall asleep in front of the Muggle news. Her father was very proud of that fact, though. It showed that she was already intelligent far beyond her age. But, then he was proud of everything she did.

The kitchen was empty when they stepped out of the fireplace. Ginny had Al on her arm and James in the hand. "Hello?" She called out.

"We're in here!" A hushed voice came from the living room. They tiptoed in. At first they didn't see anyone, but a hand shot up from behind the sofa.

Ron was lying on the sofa, with Rose on his belly. They both stared at the TV in front of them. "Schh, they're just showing footage from the election in Estonia. I think this might be it." Rose seemed to be just on the verge of falling asleep. She blinked a few times before she closed her eyes completely. Ginny waited a few moments before giving Ron the thumbs up.

He smiled and slowly stood up to put Rosie in the crib that stood next to the sofa. He then turned the TV off. "Hey little sister. What brings you here."

"Harry had to work, so I thought I'd take the kids over for a visit"

Teddy walked over the Ron and grabbed his sleeve. "Hey Uncle Ron. We had a fire in the kitchen before."

"A fire in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, Jamie took the wand and then the parchment started burning. And then we couldn't be there for all the smoke. And my toys were gonna burn!" Ron still looked like a question mark. He looked at her for an explanation.

"James took my wand when I was changing Al. And he put on the stove, so the parchment I'd stashed there started burning. But I put it all out." Ron just laughed. And laughed.

Ginny almost got mad. "It's not funny!" She stomped her foot. She put Jamie down on the floor, but he clung to her leg. He didn't like it when Mommy got mad.

Sounds were heard on the stairs. A very dishevelled looking Hermione came down. "What's happening? Oh, hello Ginny." She smiled.

Ron looked a bit pale. "I… we didn't wake you I hope." She didn't answer her husband. She just walked over to where Ginny was standing and gave her a hug.

"I hope my loaf of a husband didn't irritate you. He has a habit of acting before thinking."

"S'okay. I've lived with him for sixteen years, I'm used to it." And she started laughing. Hermione joined in.

"Do you wanna stay for dinner?" Hermione asked between giggles.

"I'd love to."

And so ended another day in the Potter-Weasley family. It was days like these that made you realize that raising a family, could be just as stressful and unpredictable as their years at Hogwarts.

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**I might have mentioned it before but all the children are based on kids I know. Teddy is an exaggerated form of my best friend's nephew, Rose is the daughter of a family friend. And the stove incident actually happened to a friend of mine. Along with the kids running out on the streets shouting that their toys were gonna burn. :P**

**Like always, reviews are much welcome! :D**


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